THE US CALL FOR THE BANKRUPTCY OF THE GORKY AUTOMOBILE PLANT

Brian O'Toole, a researcher from the Atlantic Council of the United States, called on the authorities to bring the GAZ Group to bankruptcy. According to O'Toole, this could cause serious damage to the Russian economy, to which the previously established sanctions were aimed.

A specialist who worked as a consultant of the head of one of the departments of the US Treasury knows what he is talking about, as the bankruptcy of the Gorky Automobile Plant can result in the loss of jobs for almost 500 thousand people. Considering the recent state of the enterprise, the scenario of bankruptcy may turn out to be quite real.

Russian experts note that such an approach to sanctions, under which the bankruptcy of the company is expected, has been publicly announced for the first time. This may mean that the policies pursued by the American authorities have ceased to correspond to the sentiments of the American elite.

In the period preceding the US elections, the voters want to demonstrate the "bomb effect" by choosing the GAZ concern as an object.

For the moment, the GAZ Group is the leading car manufacturer in the Russian Federation. The holding was included in the list of companies subject to sanctions two years ago. However, this did not cause the desired effect. One of the reasons for this was the delays that the US Treasury Department allowed for the pressure measures to take effect. Considering that another delay will expire at the end of January 2021, the desire of the authorities to make a decision on further tactical measures is understandable.   

The experts note that the GAZ Group has already felt the impact of the sanctions in full - a number of suppliers in foreign countries have ceased cooperation with the enterprises from Nizhny Novgorod. The long-term collaboration project with the Daimler brand has been completely stopped.

The impacts of the pandemic were added to the sanctions in 2020, due to which the company was forced to stop the conveyor, and in June it switched to a four-day working week.

This mode of operation is planned to be maintained until the beginning of winter.

The US Department of the Treasury has previously tried to influence GAZ, putting the company in extremely uncomfortable working conditions. This was done by issuing the permits for joint activities with partners in other countries. In particular, the company is obliged to provide a report on financial results within five days after each quarter until January 22, 2021, providing the Ministry of Finance with the protocols of the board meetings and informing about the creation of joint ventures. A special place in the requirements is occupied by Oleg Deripaska, known as the beneficiary of the automotive holding.